Policy of multiculturalism and regulation of intensifying migration flows: foreign experience Zhernovaya, O.; Rykhtik, M.

Transcription

1 Policy of multiculturalism and regulation of intensifying migration flows: foreign experience Zhernovaya, O.; Rykhtik, M. Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Zhernovaya, O. ; Rykhtik, M.: Policy of multiculturalism and regulation of intensifying migration flows: foreign experience. In: International Journal of Advanced Studies (2012), 1, 4 pages. URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar Nutzungsbedingungen: Dieser Text wird unter einer Basic Digital Peer Publishing-Lizenz zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den DiPP-Lizenzen finden Sie hier: Terms of use: This document is made available under a Basic Digital Peer Publishing Licence. For more Information see:

2 Policy of multiculturalism and regulation of intensifying migration flows: foreign experience Zhernovaya O. Professor; Chair, Department of Foreign Languages and Culture Studies Lobachevsky State University of Nizhniy Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod, Russia Rykhtik M. Professor; Chair, Department of Theory of Politics Lobachevsky State University of Nizhniy Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod, Russia Abstract The article is devoted to the review of different opinions on immigration policies carried out by European countries, which can be useful for the creation of new approaches to managing migration processes in the Russian Federation. The rising number and activity of Muslim population requires new strategies and approaches. Recognizing the unsuccessful results of different models of immigrants integration (including multiculturalism) contemporary Europe has to deal with new challenges and threats caused by intensive migration processes from Muslim countries. Keywords: multiculturalism; migration policy; foreign experience; security; extremism. I. INTRODUCTION Foreign experience in regulating the issues originated by intensifying migration flows involves a number of aspects. Firstly, it is the historical aspect. Some European countries had to receive migrants from their ex-colonies, so to say, paying colonial bills (e.g. the UK, Belgium, France) [4]. Secondly, it is the economic reason. A number of countries had direct economic interests in immigrants as cheap labour force (e.g. Germany). Economic motives make people seek more favourable conditions of living. And in this case migration can be both temporary and permanent. Thirdly, it is the political or humanitarian aspect. We can witness European countries opening their doors to refugees from the countries seized by armed conflicts. To a large extent it happened under the influence of liberal sentiments prevailing in some European societies (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, etc.). Thus, the paper is devoted to the analysis of the experience of foreign countries in solving the problems caused by the intensification of migration flows and that of the interaction of cultures. II. MATERIALS ANS METHODS The principle method of analysis used in the article is an all-round comparative analysis based on a systems approach. The issue of migration policy is studied in its interrelation with economic, political, social, cultural and globalization problems. In our research work we used analytical articles and research works of outstanding American and European scholars and politicians. Experts single out several strategies of migrants acculturation such as: assimilation, separation, integration [1]. Numerous research works have revealed that a migrant s behaviour can be characterized by choosing a number of acculturation strategies [1,3]. They may opt for the assimilation approach in everyday life but remain separatist concerning family life and be absolutely integrated, for instance, in relation to food. Acculturation should result in a long-term adaptation process characterized by relatively stable changes of individual and group consciousness as a response to the demands of the environment [2,8]. It s not a secret that immigrants are seldom warmly welcomed by the native population even in case of economic immigration. Protests occurring in many European countries (e.g. the UK, Italy, the Island of Lampedusa etc.) cause a surge of extremism from forced migrants [5]. The analysis of numerous factors allows singling out the following reasons for extremism among migrants: - The gaps in immigration legislation that allow radical migrants to enter into a country and settle down there. - The display of racist sentiments and the absence of policy aimed at the integration of immigrants have made a part of migrants feel outcast. - The peculiarities, for instance, of the Muslim way of life cause the rejection of newcomers by the native population. - The social and economic problems very much influence the life of immigrants families. In the conditions of current financial crisis and the reduction of social guarantees the situation is bound to get worse. The unemployment rate being 10% in France and Belgium, the unemployment of Muslims is 20%, and in some regions, especially among the youth, the unemployment of migrants of the second and the third generations is up to 40%. - Democratization, globalization and the new means of communication have lead to an unlimited access of information. The events in Libya, Tunisia, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan and other regions have given a boost to forming a favourable attitude

3 to the victims of armed conflicts and genocide. From the position of one s own humiliation felt by many Muslims all over Europe it is easy enough to comprehend the humiliation and despair of brothers in faith indentifying the community of reasons in the state of outcast, in adherence to Islam. - The majority of Muslim priests, even if they are not radical, have come to Europe from abroad. They lack knowledge and understanding of the society of those who live in it and come to their mosques. They very often do not even speak the language of the country they preach in. As a result, their role in reducing tensions and integrating Muslims into the local community is quite limited. - A lot of European Muslims turn their back on such preachers and imams thinking that they promote Islam for the rich. This drives them to the so-called unofficial mosques. Such mosques in garages and hangars may serve as a good basis for advocating extremism and violence. Even Muslim authorities doubt the quality of knowledge of preachers in such unofficial mosques and clubs. - Those imams who propagandize radical Islam easily use such a situation finding arguments to accuse European and American policy. - Extremism is nourished at schools and universities where there study young Muslim scholar refugees from the countries seized by interethnic and interreligious conflicts. In the universities the authorities find clandestine nets of such organizations as The Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, Hamas, the cells of Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian and Turkish terrorist groups. - Some groups were created to express solidarity with struggling Afghanistan, Algeria and Bosnia. In the majority of cases these movements were not spontaneous but had been prepared and directed by The Muslim Brotherhood. - The inability of law enforcement bodies to effectively oppose extremist organizations built according to the net principle. There is absence of coordination of actions of the EU member states law enforcement agencies. Moreover, there are language problems, unwillingness to share information and imperfection of legislature [5]. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that studying the biographies of those who responded to the calls of radicals and took part in preparing or committing terrorist attacks proves the groundlessness of a well-known paradigm that poverty drives to extremism and terrorism. Many terrorists come from the families with a relatively high stable income integrated into local communities. For example, Omar Sheikh, the son of a rich Pakistan merchant born in Britain, studied at prestigious private schools and later became the head of a terrorist group. Those who committed terrorist attacks in London buses and the tube also belonged to quite a successful and not even poor estate [5]. Thus, studying the reasons for radicalization and participation in extremist activity demands deeper consideration of each separate case. Political scientists single out three models of migrants integration [6]. Each of them has its strong and weak sides from the point of view of counteraction to extremism. Nevertheless, despite this fact, in the majority of countries that have recently received immigrants (e.g. Germany, the Netherlands, France, the UK, Greece) the policy of migrants integration can be called as a failure. The model of a newly arrived worker. Its implementation began in the s when the new labour force was in great demand during the postwar economic boom in Europe. This model is based on the idea that migrants are to fill in the gaps in the labour market of a host country and after having stayed there for 2 or 3 years will leave for their home country. The classical example of implementing this model is West Germany which during the period from 1955 to 1973 received hundreds of thousands of qualified and unqualified migrant workers from Italy, then from Turkey and the countries of Southern Europe. The core of state policy within the framework of this model is the following: there is no need to take any special measures aimed at integration process because in several years those who need integrating will abandon the host country. Germany did not have a balanced policy of integration process of Muslim newcomers into the German society. Moreover, the phrase Germany is not a country of immigrants was popular for a long time. And it happened in spite of the fact that recently the citizenship act was amended and it simplified the procedure of becoming a German citizen (this fact means that at least the political elite has become aware of the role of migrants in the development of contemporary Germany, though the public opinion of the country has not changed). Today the absolute majority of experts do not doubt the fact that the model of a newly arrived worker turned out to be a complete failure. Temporary migrants have become residents of the country, and the society has received the generation of their children who face serious social and economic problems. Taking into consideration the fact that a young Muslim boy attaches great importance to the process of becoming a man who is responsible for the future of his family, it is possible to speak about high extremist potential of this model. (About the role of this factor see the research works by Russian sociologist M.Furmanov). The model of multiculturalism. Within the framework of this model it was initially supposed that migrants will become residents of the host country and the attitude to them should be similar to the attitude of its citizens, taking into account the specific features of their religion, ethnicity and cultural traditions. Thus, the local community acquired a special role as a cell with its ethnic religious and cultural peculiarities that helps preserve identity. While a migrant is getting integrated into the host society, the significance of a community is also changed. But at an early stage the processes of relations between communities and the native population should be monitored and regulated. This model was put into effect in Great Britain and the Netherlands. However, the consequences of the implementation of this model in the social and economic sphere were not much better than those of the first model mentioned above. Both Great

4 Britain and the Netherlands failed to avoid violence, interethnic conflicts, growth of extremism and ethnic religious terrorism. As far as the assimilation model is concerned it was also much criticized. Migrants were viewed as individuals with each of whom the state concludes a contract. Migrants were welcomed until they behaved as natives, observed local traditions and respected the institutions and legislation of the host country. The most well-known example of this very model is France. But the events taking place in France and the growing popularity of radical politicians (e.g. the leader of the National Front, Marine Le Pen) demonstrated that the assimilation model doesn t help to avoid the problems of the first and the second models at the levels of the second and third generations of former migrants. The level of social and economic integration of young descendants of the migrants of the s is still quite low. For a state it may mean the following: It may remain neutral in relation to the current processes considering religion and culture as the spheres of private life. The state may determine only the general framework providing guarantees of equality of all religions and confessions during the process of migrants integration. It is likely to be a purely theoretical approach. It may recognize the existence of cultural differences and confer special rights. For example, ethnic minorities may have the right to be educated in their native language, to ethnic. This approach will help to avoid the situation in which migrants have to choose between their national identity and the identity of the host country. This approach is considered to allow alleviating a number of acute differences in the process of forming identity. Legal pluralism the creation of legal regulations for different groups, including criminal and family law. But the question still remains open for Unified Europe or for a nation state whether it is possible to implement such policy or not at the present moment. Cultural autonomy for certain groups representing the minority. In some countries this approach is carried out but not extended to immigrants. It is obvious that migrants in Europe experience the deficit of initiatives aimed at their integration into Western European liberal societies. In the near-term outlook the elaboration of new strategies of political and civil integration of immigrants will become one of the primordial tasks for the state and the civil society institutions. One of the pivotal questions that is to be answered is whether the deficit of integration can be made up for by the initiatives of civil policy. In order to increase the role of civil society institutions in the process of migrants integration experts suggest that emphasis should be put on the following: 1. Recognize the substantial contribution of immigrants to strengthening national security. 2. Throw more light on the life of immigrants in mass media by improving their image among the native population. 3. Actively involve immigrants (especially of the second and third generations) in the work of civil society institutions. 4. Create new civil society institutions which immigrants can participate in. 5. Bring up a new generation of leaders among immigrants (educational programmes). 6. Actively attract national attention to the processes of migrants integration into the society [6]. Nowadays many countries put considerable effort to reduce the level of liability to threats originated by the intensifying migration flows. Such measures include the following changes: reforming legislation in the sphere of granting asylum, strengthening law enforcement bodies, intelligence community and judicial institutions, organizing coordination between them. In 2002 the governments of European countries established the Single Arrest Warrant which allows the police to arrest suspects of a crime committed in another country. The Europol increased its activity tracking suspects of crimes committed within the European Union. For instance, in 2003 the number of arrests increased by 40% in comparison with the previous years. Criminal legislation is adjusted to terrorist crimes. The introduction of biometric data for visa issuing is initiated. Some attempts are also undertaken to improve coordination between intelligence services of different countries and create mechanisms of intelligence information exchange and a kind of common database. The measures aimed at social integration of immigrants and offering better economic prospects for the youth are also implemented. There have already been made the efforts to offer certain tax concessions to those who employ the youth and give local authorities the reasons for paying attention to the problems of the youth. However, real progress in this direction hasn t been reached in the majority of European countries yet. There are made attempts to avoid ghettoization and the isolation of migrants. Experts note that a number of governmental initiatives have been welcomed by migrants. They try to find the forms of their participation in civil and political processes of their host countries. Nevertheless, the process of opposing extremism faces certain challenges [7]. At the strategic level, there emerge formidable hurdles especially if we consider it in the near-term outlook. Ethnically homogeneous European societies traditionally expect immigrants to get integrated in their societies as soon as possible and accept the existing way of life and liberal values. However, there is hardly any melting pot. Many migrants oppose such expectations and refuse to adjust their way of life, their values and faith. Religion plays an important role in the life of a migrant as it influences the organization of a family life and household of a Muslim, so many of them do not want to abandon their traditions as a payment for integration process. As the number of Muslims grows, the requirements concerning medical service, wearing certain clothes in public places and even the work of public swimming pools (for men and women separately) will also become tougher and tougher. This, in turn/ will

5 contribute to spreading protest sentiments in traditional European societies. These issues acquire topicality when broadened Unified Europe has faced the problem of forming new identity. Even if the authorities sequentially implement measures aimed at immigrants integration, the effect will be postponed for a generation or two. Thus, the majority of experts agree that the contemporary policy of Western countries in relation to immigrants needs substantial updating. In Western Europe the main hopes are pinned on the state and its institutions. III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 1. Due to globalization processes the regulation of migration flows becomes one of the most important instruments of state policy. Lack of a balanced complex conception of migration policy hinders a harmonic development of society. The principle of personal-state partnership should become the basis of this conception which, in its turn, will allow increasing effectiveness of migration policy. 2. The improvement of institutional structure is considered to be one of the conditions of successful realization of immigration policy. The analysis of a current situation revealed the expediency of redistribution of functions from the central level of power to regional levels. Thus, the main task of immigration policy is to make a shift from the federal level to regional levels of government. Non-governmental organizations should become equals in working out and realizing migration policy. 3. We can speak about expediency of enhancing migration policy in the following directions: 1) classification of countries according to the principle of migration preference, taking into consideration social and political, cultural and economic factors; 2) the creation of institutions and mechanisms, legitimizing working migration; 3) to move emphasis from counteraction of illegal migration to its manadement. REFERENCES [1] Rykhtik, M. The Introduction to Cross-Cultural Communication: Migration and the Problem of Understanding. Tutorial // N. Radina, M.Rykhtik. Nizhniy Novgorod: University of Nizhniy Novgorod, p. 46.; The Role of Muslim Identity Politics in Radicalisation (a study in progress). Tufyal Choudhury, University of Durham: Crown, April [2] Alexander C. The Asian Gang: Ethnicity, Identity, Masculinity. Oxford: Oxford University Press [3] Hopkins, P. Youthful Muslim masculinities: gender and generational relations //Transaction of the Institute of the British Geography. N [4] Macey, M. Class, Gender and Religious Influence on Changing Patters of Pakistani Muslim Male Violence in Bradford // Ethnic and Racial Studies. N 22(5) [5] Prepared statement of Mr.Claude Moniquet, President and Director General, European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center Islamic Extremism in Europe. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats of the Committee on International Relations. House of Representatives. 109 Congress. 1 session. April, 27, Serial No [6] Steffen Angenendt «Muslim, Integration, and Security in Europe»; Paul M.Barrett «American Muslims and the Question of Assimilation» // «Muslim Integration: Challenging Conventional Wisdom in Europe and the United States» CSIS Transatlantic Dialogue on Terrorism. Washington DC: CSIS, September, f [7] Strengthening America: The Civic and Political Integration of Muslim Americans. Report of the Task Force on Muslim American Civic and Political Engagement. F. Kathwari, L.M.Martin, Cocnairs, C.Whitney, Project Director. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, orce%20reports/073007%20ccga_muslim%20force_v11 _web.pdf [8] The Challenge of Diversity: European Social Democracy Facing Migration, Integration, and Multiculturalism. Ed. by Cuperus R., Duffeck K.A. and Kandel J. Innsbruck\Wein: Studien Verlag Ges.mbH, 2003.